Why did you get a GMRS license?

[SteveShannon]

@JoCoBrian deserves full credit.  In response to a post decrying the apparent lost of a repeater, I asked the original poster (OP) why he had gotten a GMRS license in the first place.  JoCoBrian stepped up and gave a great answer and I realized this might be a good general interest question.

I’ve been fascinated with radio as long as I can remember. My parents had one of those tall wooden consoles with a radio and record player and before I was school age I took it apart. 
Then in the 60s I became interested in two way radios while watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  Every time a company came out with some kind of small walkie talkie I begged my folks for a set.

In eighth grade I became interested in ham radio but I never followed through (a trait I still have).

When I got into amateur rocketry a couple decades ago I noticed that people were carrying real radios. Eventually my mentor got a Garmin and I bought a less expensive Motorola Talkabout to talk to him. But neither of us were licensed. I signed up for an FRN in probably 2004 or 2005 but didn’t want to spend the money to buy the license. It took quite a few years but a few years ago (2021 I think) my conscience finally got the better of me. I got a license and started watching Notarubicon videos. Within a few months my interest in ham radio resurrected itself as well and in 2022, I took all three tests. But I still want a Man from U.N.C.L.E. communicator!

So, why did you get a GMRS license?

[AdmiralCochrane]

I like 2 way radios.  The more bands I am licensed to use within the bounds set for each band and license the better.

Also the hope that my daughter would keep a GMRS radio at her house that is within range of at least 2 repeaters that also reach my house in case the cell system ever goes down  AGAIN.  If you didn't live thru it, you don't understand.

Had handheld 1/2 watt walkie talkies back in the '60's and CB's in the 70's.  Learned how to tune antennas and improve grounding etc with the CB's.

[LeoG]

Because I wanted a birthday gift that wasn't related to my business.  All my stuff is generally geared towards the woodworking business I have and this time around I decided I didn't want a new tool.  That I wanted a new toy.  On top of it, it's SHTF preparedness for me and my family.

I got the license because the Ef Sea Seas demanded that I have their permission paperwork to transmit into the open ether that they so happily decided was their property instead of just the nature of things.

And I figured it's only $35 for 10 years and no test so who cares.  The repeater owners want you to be licensed so before I could ask permission I needed the coveted call sign assigned to me from the powers above.

Generally I like playing radio.  I did when I was much younger and now the prices of worthwhile radios is squat.  When I was a kid some 50 years ago I remember a walkie talkie would cost $30-50 and you'd be lucky to get 100 yards out of it.  Now 50 years later that same $35 gets you a pretty descent radio that can transmit 1/3 mile easily, to 1-5 miles or better depending on conditions.

 

I did it for funz

[LeoG]

Just now, AdmiralCochrane said:

I like 2 way radios.  The more bands I am licensed to use within the bounds set for each band and license the better.

Also the hope that my daughter would keep a GMRS radio at her house that is within range of at least 2 repeaters that also reach my house in case the cell system ever goes down  AGAIN.  If you didn't live thru it, you don't understand.

I hear that.  We've had a few storms that didn't necessarily take down the cell systems but took out the power.  Which can limit your personal options for communication.

[marcspaz]

I had gotten my first GMRS license long before I was licensed in amateur radio, '87-'88 timframe. I was looking for an alternative to CB, that was quiet and family friendly. It was mostly for road trips with my family, as several times a year we would caravan 1,000+ miles to states around the country. 

 

I had let me original license expire due to lack of use, but got interested in Ham radio back in the early 2000's. As my son got older and started driving, he wanted radios to keep in touch. Especially because of the camping g and 4wheeling. At first we used CB... but he asked me if there was something like Ham radio, but without having to take a test. I remembered how well GMRS worked, so, I got a new license for the family to use. Just like the old days, it was for caravans with the family and noodling around when there was no cell coverage. 

 

Today, I still use it for the same reasons... caravans, wheeling, keeping in touch around town. It's a good service. 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, LeoG said:

Because I wanted a birthday gift that wasn't related to my business.  All my stuff is generally geared towards the woodworking business I have and this time around I decided I didn't want a new tool.  That I wanted a new toy.  On top of it, it's SHTF preparedness for me and my family.

I got the license because the Ef Sea Seas demanded that I have their permission paperwork to transmit into the open ether that they so happily decided was their property instead of just the nature of things.

And I figured it's only $35 for 10 years and no test so who cares.  The repeater owners want you to be licensed so before I could ask permission I needed the coveted call sign assigned to me from the powers above.

Generally I like playing radio.  I did when I was much younger and now the prices of worthwhile radios is squat.  When I was a kid some 50 years ago I remember a walkie talkie would cost $30-50 and you'd be lucky to get 100 yards out of it.  Now 50 years later that same $35 gets you a pretty descent radio that can transmit 1/3 mile easily, to 1-5 miles or better depending on conditions.

 

I did it for funz

What $35 radio only gets 1-5miles?   Never heard of that in a gmrs radio.  No one I know only get 5miles from their hand helds  

[LeoG]

You are in perfect land if I recall.  Wide open at the top of a hill in barren county.  I on the other hand live in the land of trees and hills.  I live near a river so I am in a low location.  At about 1/2 mile or so you can get static and crackles because of all the different obstacles in the path of the signal.  I am talking about 5 watt HTs.

[WRXR255]

Great topic!

 

Grew up around CB, back in the day you had to have a license for it.  Remember my dad had a Dymo label, the kind that imbossed the plastic, with his callsign stuck to his base unit and the mobile one in the Pinto.

Neighbor behind us had an aerial so tall the guy lines were in all 4 corners of his backyard, heh.

When we moved out of the burbs and off to the hillbilly nation when dad decided to start a trucking business for coal, everyone had a CB cause you needed it. Nice to know that switchback your getting close to on a hill has a fully loaded truck coming down it is at the switchback, so you could stop far enough away so they could swing the corner.

Lost interest in radio after I moved away, but around 2014 or so, I needed one for work, or more like, one would help but there was not enough to go around to everyone.

Bought a UV5R from the Amazon in 2014 - cost me close to 40 dollars then:

Learned how to get it programmed for work and used it, but not much more.

Years later started looking into going HAM, but for me the work was not worth it, as that was more than I needed.

Can't remember when GMRS crossed my mind, but figured it was not as geeky as HAM, but I could expand a bit radio wise with it.

Now here I am, becoming more geeky about radio.

[Hoppyjr]

I also started with CB back in the early 1970’s and found it very useful until the early 1990’s or so. I considered getting the HAM ticket, but never took the time.

When building out my new 4Runner I found YouTube videos that highlighted GMRS and thought it would be a good addition. After a bit more than a year the “radio bug” bit me and I now have a couple Icom radios and will be taking the test soon, to finally get the HAM license.

My son & I both have mobile radios and we have several handhelds between us.

The overall clarity, range, and repeater capabilities make this feel like an excellent option for us.

[dosw]

Kids were too young for cell phones, and we did a lot of skiing together at six different ski resorts. Plus they were getting old enough to visit neighbor friends as I worked from home. GMRS was a good way to find each other if we ended up at different lift bases, or took some wrong turn skiing. It was a good way to be able to say, "time to come home", it was great around the campsite, backing up to the trailer, that sort of thing.

 

They're older and have cell phones now but we still use them skiing, hiking, camping, backing up to the trailer, at outdoors events and parks. We use them where cell service is unpredictable, or predictably absent. And now it's sort of a fun hobby, and probably a gateway to amateur for us.

[nokones]

I got my first GMRS license in the early 90s because I like playing with radios. Also, I had a CB Class D license back in the day, a Class 3 Radio Telephone Operators license, a Restricted Operators License, and somewhere I recall having a Marine Endorsement on a license. I wish I kept my original GMRS license active just for the callsign.

[CALO50]

2 hours ago, WRQW589 said:

Kids were too young for cell phones, and we did a lot of skiing together at six different ski resorts. Plus they were getting old enough to visit neighbor friends as I worked from home. GMRS was a good way to find each other if we ended up at different lift bases, or took some wrong turn skiing. It was a good way to be able to say, "time to come home", it was great around the campsite, backing up to the trailer, that sort of thing.

That's very cool.

[CALO50]

Off road/overlanding comms.

Backup comms when power and cell towers go down in the Sierra Foothills.

[WRDJ205]

Got the license after my wife gave me the radios.  We use them to communicate on some rural property (hiking, riding atvs, tractors, etc.).   
 

Now at home, it’s part of our plan for communication after a disaster or emergency.  

[WRKC935]

Well, because I wasn't comfortable with bootlegging.

Matt (the guy that owns the tower) had his license for several years.  We were using GMRS both on a repeater and simplex for tower operations.  He would be up the tower and we used radio's so we didn't have to holler up and down the tower.  I didn't feel comfortable about it so we were gonna switch to Itinerant's.  He told me to just get a license, but I didn't really want to spend the $70 at the time.  So I get an email from Paypal that I had a deposit from him for $70.  So I got my license.

Then I got nuts.  We put up the dual feed DB420 and connected it to the two 4 port transmit combiners and I put up the 675 and then found out about linking and put up the 600.  Matt already had the 725 on the air, but it was running on a GR1225 repeater, so I put it on a 40 watt MTR2000.  Then I put the 442.775 on the air on another MTR2000.  So I have 3 UHF repeaters that went on the air in the course of a month. 

But if Matt hadn't sent me the money for the license, I may not have ever bothered.  But I am glad he did at this point.

 

[LeoG]

11 minutes ago, WRKC935 said:

Well, because I wasn't comfortable with bootlegging.

Matt (the guy that owns the tower) had his license for several years.  We were using GMRS both on a repeater and simplex for tower operations.  He would be up the tower and we used radio's so we didn't have to holler up and down the tower.  I didn't feel comfortable about it so we were gonna switch to Itinerant's.  He told me to just get a license, but I didn't really want to spend the $70 at the time.  So I get an email from Paypal that I had a deposit from him for $70.  So I got my license.

Then I got nuts.  We put up the dual feed DB420 and connected it to the two 4 port transmit combiners and I put up the 675 and then found out about linking and put up the 600.  Matt already had the 725 on the air, but it was running on a GR1225 repeater, so I put it on a 40 watt MTR2000.  Then I put the 442.775 on the air on another MTR2000.  So I have 3 UHF repeaters that went on the air in the course of a month. 

But if Matt hadn't sent me the money for the license, I may not have ever bothered.  But I am glad he did at this point.

 

So did you ever return his money?

[Lscott]

4 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

So, why did you get a GMRS license?

Because the license fee was cheap, now good for 10 years, sort of cool to have and goes along with my Ham license.

One other factor it’s not much trouble to get friends and family to get the license since no testing is required. Just fill out some forms and pay the fee.

[catbrigade]

I got the license to use with family for emergency communications or if we go camping somewhere with bad cell coverage.

It ended up being a gateway drug as now I have an extra class ham license to go with it.

[WRKC935]

1 hour ago, LeoG said:

So did you ever return his money?

No, but I did wire his tower building, mow the grass there every other week since 2019, painted the outside of the building, cut brush.  Dragged thousands of feet of hardline to the site ranging from new 1/2 inch to several 200 plus foot lengths of 7/8 and 1 5/8 line.  repair radios for him and a number of other things that I can't even remember right now.

But I figure I should do that.

 

[WRDJ205]

4 minutes ago, WRKC935 said:

I figure I should do that.

I think he got a good deal for $70.  

[amaff]

Amateur Motorsport comms, and now lots of other Activity Comms. Hiking or road tripping with the family. Talking to my kid on the pit-wall (or talking trash to another buddy on track). Talking to friends or family on a road trip in the other vehicle.

I'm fortunate to be somewhere fairly repeater heavy, so it's also nice to have as a backup when hiking in case someone gets hurt where there's no cell service but I can probably hit 1 of the repeaters on a mountain top, which is nice.

And sometimes I go overlanding. I'm new to it though, and I doing this right?

 

[GP62]

13 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

@JoCoBrian deserves full credit.  In response to a post decrying the apparent lost of a repeater, I asked the original poster (OP) why he had gotten a GMRS license in the first place.  JoCoBrian stepped up and gave a great answer and I realized this might be a good general interest question.

I’ve been fascinated with radio as long as I can remember. My parents had one of those tall wooden consoles with a radio and record player and before I was school age I took it apart. 
Then in the 60s I became interested in two way radios while watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  Every time a company came out with some kind of small walkie talkie I begged my folks for a set.

In eighth grade I became interested in ham radio but I never followed through (a trait I still have).

When I got into amateur rocketry a couple decades ago I noticed that people were carrying real radios. Eventually my mentor got a Garmin and I bought a less expensive Motorola Talkabout to talk to him. But neither of us were licensed. I signed up for an FRN in probably 2004 or 2005 but didn’t want to spend the money to buy the license. It took quite a few years but a few years ago (2021 I think) my conscience finally got the better of me. I got a license and started watching Notarubicon videos. Within a few months my interest in ham radio resurrected itself as well and in 2022, I took all three tests. But I still want a Man from U.N.C.L.E. communicator!

So, why did you get a GMRS license?

I got mine because of my concern to maintain communication with my family in the event of social calamity or worse. Things have been strange the last few years and while I am generally an optimist, I felt the need to at least have backup comms. I find that our setup works just fine for us. 

[gortex2]

Got it when I was old enough to do on my own. PArents had one for years. We used GMRS for a long time before cell phones and email. Still use it for what we did then but added off road stuff as well.

 

[WRQI663]

Since '67 I have had an amateur radio licence so radio is something I grew up with....so, like many of us

I, after using expensive Yaesu and Kenwood HTs on ham bands, I was interested in going for a CCR.

a UV5R was twice the cost it is now, and still cheaper than other big names. I didn't know what GMRS was

except it was another radio service -- When I found my CCR could transmit on those freqs I programmed

(no chirp) the radio - but didn't have the license to operate. Not wanting my other licenses being in jeopardy,

I got a GMRS license - I still used part 90 radios for it...but rarely transmitted except when using bubble pack toys

Now there are CCR's made for GMRS I got a couple of them.

Why? Because radios are fun --I don't expect to work any "DX" on GMRS it's both a tool and a toy.

Too bad I can't key the flashlight on those CCRs, I could have used it to send morse code.

 

 

[GP62]

15 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

@JoCoBrian deserves full credit.  In response to a post decrying the apparent lost of a repeater, I asked the original poster (OP) why he had gotten a GMRS license in the first place.  JoCoBrian stepped up and gave a great answer and I realized this might be a good general interest question.

I’ve been fascinated with radio as long as I can remember. My parents had one of those tall wooden consoles with a radio and record player and before I was school age I took it apart. 
Then in the 60s I became interested in two way radios while watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  Every time a company came out with some kind of small walkie talkie I begged my folks for a set.

In eighth grade I became interested in ham radio but I never followed through (a trait I still have).

When I got into amateur rocketry a couple decades ago I noticed that people were carrying real radios. Eventually my mentor got a Garmin and I bought a less expensive Motorola Talkabout to talk to him. But neither of us were licensed. I signed up for an FRN in probably 2004 or 2005 but didn’t want to spend the money to buy the license. It took quite a few years but a few years ago (2021 I think) my conscience finally got the better of me. I got a license and started watching Notarubicon videos. Within a few months my interest in ham radio resurrected itself as well and in 2022, I took all three tests. But I still want a Man from U.N.C.L.E. communicator!

So, why did you get a GMRS license?

And I agree with you totally on the Man from U.N.C.L.E. pen!!!